-
The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...
Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports
Maradona too. I was lucky enough to see him play, and I’d describe him as a combination of Messi and Tevez (personally I still think Messi is better, simply because of consistency). An aggressive fighter with wizard feet and a lightning quick brain. He’d be one of the greats in any era.
I’ve always remembered an interview with Lineker from years ago, where he was asked who the best player he’s ever played with was. He immediately said Maradona, then went on to tell a story of a training session where Maradona jogged out on the pitch, threw the ball in the air, then proceeded to hit the ball as hard and as high as he could, over and over again, without moving from the spot. Lineker said that the next day the rest of the Barca team all tried to emulate it, and none of them could even do it twice in a row.
Impossible for me to watch that without imagining him being off his face on coke.
A rightfully legendary player. I love the fact that he’s got a pretty strong connection to us, with tweets of him wearing our shirt, meetings with Kane and Pochettino, and his recent half-time appearance. A proper nutter, but an absolute genius of a player.
I still think Pele was a bit of a victim of timing when it comes to his reputation. If he had been around a decade or two later I think there would be greater evidence of his talents. You only need to look at the footage to see he’d be a star any time and anywhere.
Maybe.
But perhaps you could say the same about many modern footballers today? For example, could you imagine Wilfried Zaha back in the 60s or 70s? Would probably be seen as one of the greatest footballers ever. That should tell you all you need to know about how much the game has evolved.
Again though, incase anyone interprets that differently, that's not a knock on football from 40 years ago, it's just a time of change. I would imagine people who aren't even born will look back on football in 40 years time and say the same thing about those Messi was destroying.
I assume he would also be wearing 50/60s boots, kicking a ball that weighed 3 tonnes when wet, and on pitches that when dry were fractionally more soggy than rice paddies and the centre half could arse rape you and your wife before the ref might consider giving a free kick?
And that's not counting the 50s footballers diet of real ale, cigarettes and deep fried lard. And he wouldn't have had the hgh treatments either.
Not having a pop at you specifically, btw.
Trying to compare players from different eras is pointless.different training, equipment, nutrition, fiddling with the rules in favour of attacking players, medical treatment in both sporting terms, and generally ( Messi wouldn't have made it in the 60s. His GHD would have stopped him). All you can be is the best of your generation, and Messi clearly was/is the best of his.
I fully accept, btw, that in another thread I make the opposite argument about keepers. But I do believe that keepers are the exception simply because football was more physical then
Yeh I remember seeing that about Lineker. Amazing that both Maradonna and Messi are Argentinian, what are the chances of that.
Messi has a front row seat in Ronaldo's head full time.
The inferiority complex is so real.
Modern players will always be better than old players in this sport.
They have more tools at their disposal to become the best.
They have more tools at their disposal to become the best.